Massage machine

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a massage machine comprising a massage unit which itself can be pushed out relative to a backrest to thereby enable therapeutic fingers to be pushed out by a great amount. The massage machine comprises a backrest ( 12 ) provided on a chair for the person to be massaged to sit in, and a massage unit ( 20 ) reciprocatingly movable upward and downward longitudinally of the backrest ( 12 ) and having a pair of therapeutic fingers ( 30 ), ( 30 ) projecting from the backrest ( 12 ). The machine further comprises a pushing-out mechanism ( 60 ) for moving the massage unit ( 20 ) forward or rearward relative to the backrest ( 12 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to massage machines of the chairtype wherein a massage unit itself is tiltable and which are adapted togive an effective massage by pushing out therapeutic fingers from thebackrest of a chair by tilting the massage unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Massage machines of the chair type are available which have achair for a person to sit in to have his or her neck, shoulders, back orwaist massaged.

[0003] The chair-type massage machine comprises a massage unit providedinside the backrest of the chair and movable upward and downward. Themassage unit has a pair of opposite therapeutic fingers projecting fromthe backrest.

[0004] The machine massages the person to be treated by moving thetherapeutic fingers three-dimensionally leftward, rightward, upward,downward, forward and rearward.

[0005] The person is given a massage by the therapeutic fingers asslightly projected from the backrest. Accordingly, the fingers fail toreach the upper portions of the shoulders.

[0006] Massage machines are available wherein therapeutic fingers arepositionable as pushed out forward from the usual massaging position andadapted to reach the upper portions of the shoulders of the person to betreated so as to produce an enhanced massage effect [see, for example,the publication of JP-A No. 1988-145656 (column 5, lines 1 to 19 andFIG. 5)].

[0007] With such conventional massage machines, the massage unit remainsunmoved forward or rearward, and the therapeutic fingers only are pushedout forward. The amount of pushing out is therefore limited, anddifficulties are encountered in ensuring a great amount of pushing out.

[0008] Further when the fingers are pushed out, the tapping or kneadingfunction is partly limited.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a massagemachine of the chair type comprising a massage unit which itself can bepushed out relative to the backrest so as to enable therapeutic fingersto be pushed out by an increased amount.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides amassage machine comprising a backrest provided on a chair for the personto be massaged to sit in, and a massage unit reciprocatingly movableupward and downward longitudinally of the backrest and having a pair oftherapeutic fingers projecting from the backrest. The machine furthercomprises a pushing-out mechanism for moving the massage unit forward orrearward relative to the backrest.

[0011] When the massage unit itself of the chair-type massage machine ofthe present invention is moved forward or rearward by the pushing-outmechanism, the therapeutic fingers are pushed out forward greatly. Whenthe massage unit is pushed out with the therapeutic fingers positionedin the rear of the shoulders, the fingers satisfactorily reach the upperportions of the shoulders to effectively give a kneading or tappingmassage to the upper portions of the shoulders.

[0012] Furthermore, a finger-pressure massage can be given by pushingout the massage unit itself by the pushing-out mechanism, with thetherapeutic fingers in contact with the back, waist or the like.

[0013] Additionally, a very effective massage can also be performed byadjusting the amount of pushing-out of the massage unit and therebyvarying the intensity of the contact (strong or weak contact) of thetherapeutic fingers with the person to be massaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a backrest of a massage machine ofthe chair type;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the backrest with a massage unit andtherapeutic fingers pushed out forward;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a rear view of the massage unit;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the massage unit as it is seenobliquely from behind on the right side thereof;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the main components of themassage unit as separated from the machine;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the massage unit as it is seenobliquely from behind on the left side thereof; and

[0020]FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the main components of themassage unit as separated from the machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The massage machine of the chair type of the invention has abackrest 12 connected as by a frame to the rear end of a seat for theperson to be massaged to sit in so as to be tiltable and positionable inplace. The backrest 12 is covered with a fabric, cushion or the like.

[0022] Inside Construction of the Backrest

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the backrest 12 is provided insidethereof with a pair of opposite guide rails 14 extending upward ordownward in parallel longitudinally of the backrest 12. The guide rails14, 14 are each in the form of a channel and arranged with their groovesopposed to each other. The opening side of each rail 14 has a rack 16(see FIG. 3). The massage unit 20 to be described later is upwardly ordownwardly movably mounted on the guide rails 14, 14.

[0024] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the massage unit 20 has fourrollers 23, 23, 65, 65 projecting from a main chassis 21 and fitting inthe guide rails 14, 14 and is thereby made movable upward or downward.All components of the massage unit 20 are mounted on the main chassis21.

[0025] The main chassis 21 has rear and side openings and is fixedlyprovided at its center with longitudinal subchassis 22, 22 as spacedapart as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0026] The lower rollers 23, 23 are fitted to opposite ends of aup-and-down rotating shaft 24 extending through lower portions of thesubchassis 22, 22 transversely of the machine and projecting fromopposite sides of the main chassis 21. Fixedly mounted on the rotatingshaft 24 inwardly of the respective rollers 23, 23 are gears 25, 25meshing with the racks 16, 16 of the guide rails 14, 14. The rotatingshaft 24 is coupled to an up-and-down motor 26 via a reduction device27. The gears 25, 25 meshing with the racks 16, 16 are rotated bydriving the motor 26, moving the massage unit 20 upward or downwardalong the guide rails 14, 14. The combination of pulleys and a belt, orof a worm and worm wheel is usable to provide the reduction device 27.The belt reeved around the pulleys of the reduction device 27 is notshown in FIG. 4.

[0027] Construction of Therapeutic Fingers, and Kneading and TappingMechanisms

[0028] With reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, therapeutic fingers 30, 30 formassaging the person to be treated are coupled to a kneading shaft 40supported by the subchassis 22, 22 generally centrally thereof and to atapping shaft 50 supported below the kneading shaft 40. As shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, the kneading shaft 40 and the tapping shaft 50 arecoupled to a kneading motor 41 and a tapping motor 51 mounted on themain chassis 21, by way of reduction devices 42, 52, respectively. Thecombination of pulleys and a belt, or of a worm and worm wheel is usableto provide the reduction device 42 between the kneading shaft 40 and thekneading motor 41. The belt reeved around the pulleys of each of thereduction devices 42, 52 is not shown in FIG. 4.

[0029] With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the therapeutic fingers 30, 30each comprise a pivotal lever 33 supported as inclined and positionedeccentrically on the kneading shaft 40 and projecting forward through ahole 21 a formed in a front wall of the main chassis 21, a massage arm32 pivoted to the forward end of the pivotal lever 33 and bent at anobtuse angle at the midportion thereof, and kneading balls 31, 31 asupported respectively at the upper and lower ends of the arm 32.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, eccentric cams 53, 53 which are out ofphase with each other by 180 degrees are supported on the tapping shaft50. Each of the cams 53, 53 is connected by a rod 55 to a universaljoint 54 attached to the rear end of the pivotal lever 33 which end ispositioned toward the kneading shaft 40.

[0031] The pivotal levers 33, 33 are supported as inclined on thekneading shaft 40 and connected to rods 45, 45 and prevented fromrotating, so that when the kneading shaft 40 is rotated, the forwardends of the pivotal levers 33, 33 move leftward and rightward. Thismovement pivotally moves the massage arms 32, 32 leftward and rightward,reciprocatingly moving the upper kneading balls 31, 31, as well as thelower kneading balls 31 a, 31 a, toward or away from each otherrepeatedly for a kneading operation.

[0032] When the tapping motor 51 rotates, the rods 55, 55 eccentricallyconnected to the shaft 50 cause the therapeutic fingers 30, 30 to moveupward and downward reciprocatingly for a tapping operation.

[0033] Pushing-out Mechanism 60

[0034] The massage unit 20 is provided with a pushing-out mechanism 60for moving the unit 20 forward or rearward as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.The pushing-out mechanism 60 comprises, for example, a crank mechanism61 and a link mechanism 70 as will be described below.

[0035] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the crank mechanism 61 comprisesa crankshaft 62 disposed in front of the kneading shaft 40, andcrankpins 64, 64 (see FIG. 5) rotatably carrying the upper rollers 65,65 (see FIG. 6) thereon and connected to the crankshaft 62 by crank arms63, 63. The crankpins 64, 64 are positioned eccentrically relative tothe crankshaft 62, so that when the crankshaft 62 is rotated, thecrankpins 64 revolve about the crankshaft 62. With the illustratedembodiment, the crankshaft 62, the crank arms 63, 63 and crankpins 64,64 are provided by a single metal rod, and the crankshaft 62 issupported on bearings 62 a, 62 a by the main chassis 21 as shown in FIG.5.

[0036] With reference to FIG. 3, the subchassis 22 is provided at upperand lower portions thereof with support pieces 22 a, 22 a each having abearing 22 b. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, a tilting threaded screw rod67 is supported by the bearings 22 b, 22 b. The tilting screw rod 67 hasan upper end coupled to a pushing-out motor 69 by way of a reductiondevice 68 comprising pulleys and a belt (not shown in FIG. 4).

[0037] A nut 71 is screw-thread engagement with the threaded portion ofthe screw rod 67. The nut 71 can be made from a resin. As shown in FIGS.6 and 7, the link mechanism 70 is connected to the resin nut 71. Thelink mechanism 70 can be composed of a link 72 and a link piece 78.

[0038] The link 72 will be described below with reference to an exampleof link 72 comprising a first link piece 73 and a second link piece 75which are slidable relative to each other so as to be contractablelongitudinally thereof.

[0039] The first link piece 73 is pivoted to the resin nut 71 andtiltable forward or rearward. A slide pin 74 projects from the firstlink piece 73 in the vicinity of a base end thereof.

[0040] The second link piece 75 comprises a pair of members holding thefirst link piece 73 therebetween and each having a slot 76 extendinglongitudinally thereof. The slots 76 of the second link piece 75 haveslidably fitted therein the slide pin 74 of the first link piece 73.

[0041] Further as shown in FIG. 6, the second link piece 75 has a pin 75a projecting from the forward end thereof. A spring 77 extends betweenand is engaged with the slide pin 74 and the pin 75 a. The spring 77biases the second link piece 75 toward the resin nut 71. When free ofany load, the second link piece 75 is pulled closest to the resin nut 71by the spring 77.

[0042] The link piece 78, i.e., third link piece 78, is supported by thepin 75 a of the second link piece 75. The third link piece 78 is bentforward at its midportion and has one end secured to the crankshaft 62.

[0043] When the resin nut 71 is positioned at an upper portion of thetiling screw rod 67, the third link piece 78 is pulled toward the secondlink piece 75, bringing the massage unit 20 (main chassis 21) to themost retracted position (see FIG. 1).

[0044] When the resin nut 71 is moved down from this position as shownin FIG. 7 (toward the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7) by rotating thetilting screw rod 67, the second link piece 75 pulls down the portion ofthe third link piece 78 engaging with the piece 75, rotating the thirdlink piece 78 about the crankshaft 62. Since the third link piece 78 issecured to the crankshaft 62, the crankshaft 62 rotates with the thirdlink piece 78.

[0045] The crankpins 64, 64 at the opposite ends of the crankshaft 62are movable only along the guide rails 14, 14 by the rollers 65, 65 andare unable to move forward or rearward, so that the rotation of thecrankshaft 62 tilts the massage unit 20 about the up-and-down rotatingshaft 24. With the rotating shaft 24 provided below the massage unit 20,the tilting of the unit 20 pushes out the therapeutic fingers 30, 30forward as shown in FIG. 2 (as indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 7).

[0046] By pushing out the fingers 30, 30 at the position of theshoulders of the person to be massaged, the fingers 30, 30 reach theupper portions of the shoulders. The upper portions of the shoulders ofthe person can be effectively massaged by driving the kneading motor 41and/or the tapping motor 51 in this state.

[0047] When the fingers 30, 30 as positioned at a level lower than theshoulders of the person, i.e., at the position of the back or waist, arepushed out, the back or waist of the person can be massaged with thepressure of the fingers. Further a rolling massage can be given with thefingers 30, 30 pressed against the person to be treated with a greatforce, by driving the up-and-down motor 26 to move the massage unit 20upward and downward.

[0048] When the tilting screw rod 67 is reversely rotated in the stateshown in FIG. 2, the resin nut 71 moves upward to conversely retract themassage unit 20 and pull back the fingers 30, 30 inwardly of thebackrest (see FIG. 1). In the retracted state, a massage can be given inthe same manner as conventionally.

[0049] The amount of pushing-out of the massage unit 20 is controllableby rotating the tilting screw rod 67, namely by adjusting the positionof the resin nut 71 relative to the screw rod 67. The maximum amount ofpushing-out is also controllable by altering the length of the crankarms 63, 63.

[0050] The amount of pushing-out of the massage unit 20 is detectable bypushing-out sensor means 79. As the sensor means 79, for example, avariable resistor 79 is disposed in contact with the third link piece 78as shown in FIG. 6 to measure variations in the resistance valueinvolved in the angle of rotation of the third link piece 78 by theresistor 79.

[0051] The crankshaft 62, which rotates with the third link piece 78,may be provided with the pushing-out sensor means 79.

[0052] Other Embodiment of Link Mechanism 70

[0053] With the foregoing embodiment, the resin nut 71 is connected tothe crankshaft 62 by the link mechanism 70 which comprises the link 72wherein the second link piece 75 is biased by a spring and slidablerelative to the first link piece 73, and the third link piece 78 coupledto the link 72. The first link piece 73 and the second link piece 75 aremade slidable relative to each other so as to render the therapeuticfingers 30, 30 (massage unit 20), as pushed out forward, slightlyretractable when subjected to a force from the front. Consequently, whenthe person to be massaged forces his or her back against the backrest 12with the fingers 30, 30 pushed out, a great rearward force acts on thefingers 30, 30 to retract the massage unit 20. This removes the pain tobe otherwise given to the person.

[0054] If the above effect need not be produced, the third link piece 78may be coupled directly to the resin nut 71 by a single piece of link 72instead of providing separate pieces for use as the first link piece 73and the second link piece 75.

[0055] Since the amount of sliding movement of the second link piece 75relative to the first link piece 73 corresponds to the force to beapplied to the therapeutic fingers 30, 30, means 79 a can also beprovided for detecting the particular part of the body of the person tobe massaged with which the fingers 30, 30 are in contact, based on theamount of sliding movement of the second link piece 75. In this case,the amount of sliding movement is detectable by a variable resistor 79 aor the like which is provided for the first link piece 73 so as to be incontact with the second link piece 75 as shown in FIG. 6.

[0056] When the fingers 30, 30 out of contact with the person to bemassaged are brought into contact with the shoulders of the person to bemassaged, by lowering the massage unit 20 from a position above thebackrest 12, an upward force will act on the fingers 30, 30.

[0057] As a result, the second link piece 75 slidingly moves upwardagainst the force of the spring 77. The amount of sliding movement ofthe second link piece 75 is detected by the variable resistor 79 a. Thevalue of detection indicates that the position if the shoulders of theperson.

[0058] Arm Lock Mechanism 80

[0059] The pushing-out mechanism 60 described can be provided with anarm lock mechanism 80 for causing the fingers 30, 30 to project forwardwith the pushing-out of the massage unit 20.

[0060] With reference to FIG. 7, the arm lock mechanism 80 comprises armlock rod 83, 83 each of which couples the bent portion of the massagearm 32 to the crankshaft 62 by universal joint 81, 82. The universaljoint 82 for the crankshaft 62 is provided at such a position that whenthe massage unit 20 is in the most projected position (see FIG. 2), theupper kneading ball 31 on the massage arm 32 can be pushed out to theforemost position.

[0061] As the massage unit 20 is pushed out as described above byrotating the crankshaft 62, the universal joint 82 rotates with therotation of the shaft 62, pushing the arm lock rod 83 upward whiletilting the rod. As a result, the arm lock rod 83 rotates the massagearm 32 forward, causing the upper kneading ball 31 to project forwardrelative to the main chassis 21 from a state in which the upper andlower kneading balls 31, 31 a are generally in parallel to the backrest12.

[0062] In addition to the pushing-out of the massage unit 20 by thepushing-out mechanism 60 described, the kneading ball 31 is thus pushedout greatly to the upper portion of the shoulder to massage the shouldereffectively.

[0063] A massage can be given by kneading and/or tapping with the upperkneading balls 31 thus projected, by rotating the kneading shaft 40and/or the tapping shaft 50 in this state.

[0064] When the above operation is performed with the therapeuticfingers 30, 30 in bearing contact with the back or waist of the personto be massaged, a finger-pressure massage can also be given by the upperkneading balls 31.

[0065] Further when the massage unit 20 is retracted by rotating thecrankshaft 62 reversely, each universal joint 82 pulls the arm lock rod83 downward conversely to the above movement. As a result, the arm lockrod 83 rotates the massage arm 32 rearward to return the upper and lowerkneading balls 31, 31 a to the position generally in parallel to thebackrest 12 for the balls to perform a massage in the usual manner.

[0066] Apparently, the present invention can be modified or altered byone skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and such modifications are included within the scope of theinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

1. A massage machine comprising a backrest provided on a chair for theperson to be massaged to sit in, and a massage unit reciprocatinglymovable upward and downward longitudinally of the backrest and having apair of therapeutic fingers projecting from the backrest, the massagemachine being characterized in that the machine comprises a pushing-outmechanism for moving the massage unit forward or rearward relative tothe backrest.
 2. The massage machine according to claim 1 wherein thepushing-out mechanism tilts the massage unit to thereby tilt thetherapeutic fingers.
 3. The massage machine according to claim 1 whereinthe pushing-out mechanism comprises a crank mechanism.
 4. The massagemachine according to claim 3 wherein the backrest is provided insidethereof with guide rails along the backrest, and the massage unit isprovided at upper and lower portions thereof with respective rollersfitting in each of the guide rails, one pair of upper or lower rollersbeing movable forward or rearward by the crank mechanism relative to themassage unit to thereby tilt the massage unit.
 5. The massage machineaccording to claim 4 wherein the crank mechanism comprises crankpinsrotatably carrying the rollers thereon, and a crankshaft supporting thecrankpins in an eccentric position, and the rollers are moved forward orrearward relative to the massage unit by rotating the crankshaft tothereby tilt the massage unit.
 6. The massage machine according to claim5 wherein the massage unit comprises a nut movable upward or downwardwithin the massage unit by the thrust of a screw, and the nut isconnected to the crankshaft by a link mechanism comprising a link and alink piece for converting the upward or downward movement of the nut tothe rotation of the crankshaft to thereby move the rollers forward orrearward relative to the massage unit and tilt the massage unit.
 7. Themassage machine according to claim 5 which comprises pushing-out sensormeans for detecting the amount of pushing-out of the massage unit, andthe sensor means measures the angle of rotation of the crankshaft tothereby detect the amount of pushing-out of the massage unit.
 8. Themassage machine according to claim 6 which comprises pushing-out sensormeans for detecting the amount of pushing-out of the massage unit, andthe sensor means measures the angle of rotation of the crankshaft or thelink piece to thereby detect the amount of pushing-out of the massageunit.